Help!! I'm Out of Control!

[jackibar]

Can't seem to stop eating lately - and ALL the wrong things... Terrified to get on the scale. How do we emotional eaters stop eating for comfort, love, anger, etc.? I'm very tired of eating low carb with everyone around me eating everything they want, though I know without a doubt it's the best. So why do I keep blowing it?! I'll resolve to DO it each day and then just start eating and then can't stop till the "next" day. This is how I got to 330 lbs to begin with <sigh> and I was down to 265 and don't want to regain it all...

Please help!

Jacki

[Doug Varrieur]

Hi Jackie, you're an addict, we are all addicts. Your cravings feed each other and its up to you to break that vicious circle. Time to clean out the pantry again EVERYTHING not FTS friendly must go. Your entire family needs to support you during this important time whether they like it r not, we're talking about your health here Jackie.

One meal at a time girl, just like learning to walk again....one step at a time.

Deep breaths, take action 

[umpa]

Find your trigger that makes you start eating and remove it. Detox again and all will be well,we are here for you

[Joagain]

sounds like me and yes as Doug said we are addicts , no different then any other addict . If I have a bite or two of crap food in no time it is like I can not get enough even though it is making me very sick with all the symptoms I get have nothing at the house and if you cant do that if you have a husband like I do you have to be strong one day at a time one hour at a time

[mouseissue]

Hi, Jacki!

Jo and Doug are right!... We're carboholics.
We have to approach life one day, and sometimes one minute, at a time.

Rather than focusing on what others are eating,
focus on your own delicious meals.

There's an old saying from the South; "One man's meat, is another man's poison.".
If you think of high carb foods as poison to your body, it will help you a lot.

Tony

[jackibar]

Thanks so much, everyone...  Doug - I wish I could do that, but my husband's mother who has dementia lives with us and she's 94 and he feels she should be able to eat whatever she wants - which at this point is mostly sweets, go figure!  I HAVE asked him to please keep her food hidden but it never fails that I either see it when he's bringing in the groceries or I hear her asking for something and then can picture it - or the worse is when I'm the one who has to feed her and sometimes HAND feed her this stuff

Today has been good so far.  Umpa - the problem is I have so many triggers and most I can do nothing about (like my knee pain or the fact I'm homebound at this point except for 2 times a week) - and I"m not sure how to handle the emotional triggers.  They seem to come from out of nowhere.

What do y'all do about that "urge" that just comes on all of sudden and you have no idea where from?  Like today I was eating a good lunch and felt very satisfied but then about an hour later just felt like "I WANT to EAT!!!" ugh.

[Doug Varrieur]

Jackie, when you get that "I wanna eat" feeling without really being hungry drink as much water as you can stomach. When your gut is full the feeling will pass 

[umpa]

I keep busy,that helps alot. What do you do all day? Do you have hobbies or work?

[juvee]

Hi Jackie,

I hear your pain.  Most of us easily identify with the word "addict" when it comes to carbs.  And temptations seem to be everywhere. It sounds like you are dealing with a lot of stress and food has become a way to deal with this.  Carbs can certainly be such a comfort - but only temporarily.  I'm sure I am not saying anything you do not already know.  

Is there any chance you can look into some resources that will enable you to have some free time to yourself?  Failing that hopefully you might be able to garner a bit more support within the home.  If your mother-in-law enjoys sweets then you may have to take a stand and insist that others give these to her. Easier said than done of course, depending on her needs and the availability of others in the household to lend a hand.

Maybe you can make some low carb sweets (fudge comes to mind) and substitute these for your mother-in-law's usual treats!  Eliminating the temptations will be a good start and if you happen to overindulge in the low carb goodies every so often it won't be as bad as eating all the full carb foods.

Over Easter I have also strayed a little off track so I will be doing my best to apply the same advice to myself.

Try not to worry about falling off the wagon.  Just jump back on and do your best to get on track.

 

[rennard]

I would admit that I'm guilty when Doug said we're all addict in carbs. On the other hand, we can control or stop our addiction in eating carbs. We can command ourselves to what we eat and what we shouldn't eat. Again, that will depend on how we are determine to do it.

[mouseissue]

That's right, rennard!

It's really comes down to level of commitment.
Like anything else, if you want it badly enough, you will get it.

Tony

[AliciaInTX]

Hey, Jackie!
It IS really hard. I've been at my goal weight for over a year now and I still struggle. What does help me is to really THINK about it when I have cravings. I force myself to think of what I REALLY want and if the short term euphoria of eating whatever sweet it is that I'm craving is worth the longterm pain and frustration. I think about how ashamed and angry at myself I will be if I give in...and how hard it will be to get back on track. I think about how hard I've worked so far and whether I want to undo that for something that is so short lived in satisfying me. And, as Doug suggested, I drink as much water as I can stomach. Also, tea is great. Tea has kind of become my comfort "food" these days. I reward myself with it when I am stressed out....and while it's not the same high that I get from sugar, I'm training my brain to replace it as my treat to myself when I need one. Find something that is YOUR treat but that won't sabotage what you're trying to do for yourself. It sounds like you have a lot that you're doing for others and that you are not in control of. I think maybe taking control of your food issues will empower you? That's how I feel about it, at least. Instead of letting it run me...I try to run it and when the cravings try to take over, it's a war I'm determined to win. I hope that helps some!

[mouseissue]

Hi, Alicia!

You've been missed around here!

If you're at goal and still struggling with cravings, are you eating any high-carb foods (even occasionally)?

Similar to alcoholics, as carboholics, even occasional "sugar" can reawaken "the craving beast".
This can create mini-sugar-detox events. And those can create struggles.

Tony

[umpa]

Well said Juvee
Welcome back Alicia

[Elizabeth779]

Hi Jacki -- I'm so glad you posted -- Your story sounds like my story.....and all the above responses are absolutely so spot on.  In fact I think I'll print them and carry them around to re-read when I struggle (which is often).  Like you and the others we have this thing in common of carb addiction.  And it's like a cave-in to our life that the only way out is a lot of hard work to dig out from under, and I'll agree with you that is very difficult in light of eating patterns, bad habits, and emotional and very real difficulties in our lives.....I'm with you on the difficulties of a relative with dementia -- I've been caretaking a mother with dementia.  While at times I could just fall or dive head first into a bag of M & M's, I always always always desire, long for, yearn for the freedom from carb addiction, and oh heck jacki you know from your success to get to 265 how much better you felt mentally, physically, spiritually on the wagon versus sunk into carb hell. 

Morgan wrote the famous "hike up the big girl undies and get with the program" post, but it's always true, whether it's the first time we hike them up to make things better or the 99th time.  We just have to keep on working on that effort and never give up. 

Years ago I envisioned that my journey to mastering carb addition, good health, and weight loss would be like I'm in San Diego and need to travel to my destination that is Seattle.  Now that trip is being made in say a cranky old car (representing lifes trials and my bad habits), but I will never make it to Seattle without keeping my car pointed north AND traveling....sometimes slow, sometimes faster, but I have to keep the car on the road pointed north.  If we had a break down on the road we wouldn't just pull up on the side of the road, give up and set up camp???  and we can't with carb addiction either and if you've noticed, the family around here doesn't require our perfection to assist us. 

All above suggestions from FTS family have amazing inspiration and solid helpful suggestions.....for instance, I was sitting here yearning for cookies....instead got up and made cup hot decaf tea with zero sweetener.  Let's find a new comfort food like tea....oh and I suggest meditation, relaxation tapes, prayer, etc....and keep posting...whenever I blow it I want to hide, and that's not good either.